Tempers boiled over during the IPL 2026 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, with Virat Kohli once again at the centre of attention. SRH crushed RCB by 55 runs in a high-scoring encounter and signed off from the league stage in style.
The biggest talking point came during RCB’s chase when Kohli was involved in a heated exchange with Travis Head. Batting alongside Venkatesh Iyer, Kohli was seen making an ‘X’ gesture while speaking aggressively toward the SRH batter. Head, however, responded only with a smirk as commentators speculated Kohli was asking him either to bowl or leave the field as an impact substitute.
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Kohli’s poor outing with the bat added to RCB’s frustration as he managed just 15 off 11 balls chasing a mammoth 256-run target. After the match, cameras caught another tense moment when Kohli shook hands with several SRH players but appeared to ignore Head, instead greeting Ishan Kishan standing behind him.
Earlier, SRH delivered a batting masterclass. Abhishek Sharma smashed 56 off 22 despite being dropped three times, while Kishan hammered 79 and Heinrich Klaasen blasted 51. Their explosive partnership powered Hyderabad to a daunting 255/4.
RCB never looked close to the target and instead focused on protecting their net run rate. Venkatesh Iyer’s 44 off 19 and skipper Rajat Patidar’s 56 were the only notable efforts in a disappointing chase.
